A point-of-sale (POS) terminal or station may receive payment information associated with a purchase and seek authorization for payment from a back-end financial system, for example a credit card authorization service. The point-of-sale terminal may receive the financial information from a contactless card. A contactless card communicates with a point-of-sale terminal or other device at least in part without physically contacting the point-of-sale terminal, for example through radio frequency communication conducted in the proximity of the point-of-sale terminal. This radio frequency communication may include near field communication (NFC) technology.
Various payment cards, retail loyalty cards, and product coupons may be employed in different payment and or purchase scenarios. For example, in paying for groceries at a point-of-sale terminal, a customer may present a loyalty card issued by the grocery store chain, one or more product coupons, and either a credit card or a debit card. In another payment scenario, a commuter may present a transit card to obtain access to a mass transit vehicle.